The logo importance has been an increasingly debatable topic in recent times, with some in the design community arguing that in the overall brand experience, logos barely matter as much as they used to. This is apparent when you look at the recent trend of minimalism and simplicity in logo redesigns. The real intention here is to simplify it to the point where it’s clearly distinguishable on smaller devices like a phone or even a smartwatch. While this is a sensible move, it has resulted in an increasing number of brands simplifying their logos just for the sake of it. Brands whose primary mode of communication is outdoor advertising, or environmental graphics have suddenly jumped on the minimalism bandwagon, reducing their logos to icon-level simplicity. So the question here is, where do we stand on this?

Well, for us, the ideal logo would be one that was simple but didn’t resemble an icon. A logo that is memorable and perfectly evokes our brand’s tone of voice, while also describing what we do. It sounds like the most basic and obvious criteria, but you’d be surprised at the number of large companies that ignore these basics. Did we succeed in what we set out to do? Have a look and judge for yourself:

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A logo that is memorable and perfectly evokes our brand’s tone of voice, while also describing what we do.

Color Palette

First of all, we had to lock down on a color palette that combined playfulness with class and elegance. After going through the entire visible light spectrum, we settled on a purple and pink combo.

Logo Form

This is where all sorts of opinions come pouring in. Some people like good wordmark. Others prefer a pictorial one. This is the most subjective part of the logo design process, after all, so there’s bound to be a lot of suggestions or disagreements (which there was). However, the one thing any designer or creative individual can agree upon is the aesthetically pleasing form of the Golden ratio. With that as the skeleton, we began to put together the visual elements. We at Studiotale produce engaging videos that explain the client’s concept in an intuitive and memorable way, in the form of a narrative. Video, concept, production. Those were the key elements we had in mind to represent our company. Obviously, using a Wordmark or simply a pictorial logo wouldn’t be the best idea, considering the subject matter. So we took the abstract route and worked on one that represented the above elements in a way that was clear, but not too direct. A whole lot of explorations and revisions later, we narrowed down on these three forms:

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So we took the abstract route and worked on one that represents video, concept, production in a way that was clear, but not too direct.

The tricky thing about the individual elements is combining them into a whole without one taking attention over the other. As we tried countless combinations, adding and subtracting elements, switching colors, mixing and matching, the answer slowly revealed itself. The final logo has the elements not only representing their individual meanings but also combining to form a film camera.

This was when we knew we hit the mark. With that done, it was time to move to the final piece of the puzzle: the logotype.

Logo Type

Like the logo, choosing the logotype was also a long game of mix and match. You can bet we switched between countless ones before we settled on Ubuntu; a free Google font that was just a few adjustments away from fitting in perfectly with our logo. The adjustments naturally involved getting rid of the sharp edges in the letters, turning them into rounded forms like the logo.

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You can bet we switched between countless ones before we settled on Ubuntu.

And just like that, we had an identity. One that we’re confident in; an identity that immediately gives an idea about what we do for our customers.

So let us know what you think. What are your opinions on brand logos? Are they still as relevant as they used to be? How do you think they will adapt to our ever-changing technology and popular trends? Give it some thought.